1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a universal remote control device of the type which is hand held and which can be coupled via coded infrared signals with a remote control receiver built into a television or other remotely controlled electrical apparatus to turn on the apparatus, such as the television, at a distance, to adjust the volume, tone and brightness, to change channels, and to turn the television off.
Additionally, the present invention relates to a method for acquiring the infrared codes for a controlled apparatus, such as a television, generating code data related to these infrared codes for storage in a remote control device and methods for using the remote control device for finding, in a library or table of code data for generating infarared codes for operating different electrical apparatus manufactured by different manufacturers stored in a RAM of the remote control device, the code data for generating infrared coded signals for operating a particular apparatus, such as a television, and then for using the stored code data for generating the coded infrared signals for operating the controlled apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore it has been proposed to provide a reconfigurable remote control device and programmable functions for such a remote control device which will enable one to learn, store and retransmit infrared codes that are emitted from the controller for a remotely controlled apparatus, such as a television.
For example, in the Welles II U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,887 and the Ehlers U.S. Pat. No. 4,626,848, there is disclosed a reconfigurable remote control device which has the ability to learn, store and repeat remote control codes from any other infrared transmitter. Such a reconfigurable remote control transmitter device includes an infrared receiver, a microprocessor, a non-volatile random access memory, a scratch pad random access memory, and an infrared transmitter.
According to the teachings of the Ehlers patent, the infrared signals received by the remote control device are in bursts of pulses and the device counts the number of pulses in each burst as well as the time duration of each pause in a transmission between bursts.
As will be described in greater detail hereinafter, the universal remote control device of the present invention utilizes a single non-volatile RAM does not provide a separate scratch pad RAM or, more importantly, a ROM.
In learning the infrared code and transforming same to code data which is then stored in a RAM of the control device and later used to generate infrared codes, a novel method is utilized wherein no counting of pulses takes place, and only the time duration of the pulses in a burst of pulses from the leading edge of the first pulse in a burst of pulses to the trailing edge of the last pulse in the burst as well as the time duration of the pause between bursts are sensed and used to learn and later to generate the infrared codes.
Additionally, unique methods for use of the remote control device are provided so that a number of infrared operation code sequences can be generated by the remote control device for operating various types of electronic apparatus.
According to the invention there is provided a universal remote control system having input means for inputting commands, signal output means for supplying infrared signals to a controlled device, a central processing unit (CPU) coupled to the input means and to the signal output means, a single non-volatile, read-write RAM (such as a battery-backed RAM) coupled to the central processing unit and data coupling means including terminal means coupled to the CPU for enabling new code data to be supplied from outside the system to, or retrieved from the RAM through the terminal means and the CPU.
Further according to the invention, there is provided a method of loading a RAM in a ROM-less microprocessor system comprising a central processing unit, a single non-volatile, read-write RAM, input means, output means, and means for coupling said central processing unit, said RAM, said input means, and said output means together, said method including the steps of:
(a) disabling the central processing unit;
(b) connecting a separate microprocessor system to said RAM;
(c) transferring instructions and/or data to said RAM;
(d) re-enabling the central processing unit to enable the central processing unit to execute the instructions so transferred.
Still further according to the present invention, there is provided a process of learning, storing and reproducing the remote control codes of any of a diverse plurality of remote control transmitters, comprising the steps of:
(a) receiving a transmission of a train of pulses from a remote control transmitter;
(b) recording the point-in-time of an edge of each pulse in a train of said pulses;
(c) transforming the recorded point-in-time data into a list of instructions for generating a replica of said train of pulses;
(d) timing the duration of a train of said pulses;
(e) timing the period between trains of pulses;
(f) associating a function key of a universal remote control device with said time duration of said train of pulses and said list of instructions for generating a replica of said train of pulses;
(g) determining whether or not repetitions of the transmission of train of pulses is present;
(h) ignoring repetitions of the train of pulses;
(i) noting that repetitions are present; and
(j) storing for use in a universal remote control device, the information acquired in steps (c), (d), (e), (f) and (i).